Today and Tomorrow: Sense and Sustainability To Bring Holiday Happiness to Old Town Shoppers

Alexandria, VA — Here’s holiday shopping in Old Town with a twist: Sense and Sustainability. 

Comparing “a resale crawl” to “a bar crawl,” one of the organizers of today and tomorrow’s “Sustainable Consignment Collab,” said the Nov. 14 and 15 sale is a first-time collaboration among consignment, thrift, and vintage boutiques. Helping shoppers find not-so-hidden gems at venues that encourage recycling and revaluing, the shops feature cool finds for holiday clothing and decorating items, antique jewelry, and fashion pieces of a huge variety. At these stores, the number of unique items could handle any shopping list with their recognizable brand names on accessories to jewelry to serving dishes and more.

Annette Dubs, store development manager of the Look Again Resale Shop at 900 King Street, dubbed the “resale crawl” as a first-time effort among a group of stores that will be offering significant discounts, door prizes, and other values for shoppers, kicking off today. Working with Elinor Coleman, owner of Vintage Mirage for more than two decades, Dubs said they proudly promote the sense and charm of sustainability, along with the value of educating the public about well-made items that are looking for second chances.

“The idea is (that) we are commonly oriented and we have to educate the public that recycling and reusing items are viable solutions and a social responsibility,” said Coleman, who also noted that all four shops are women-owned. Her store’s staff, including Hen Kennett, special assistant for projects including this weekend’s sustainability event, and store manager Rebecca Jacobs clearly shared Coleman’s outlook that Old Town stores share “like-minded” views when it comes to sustainability and repurposing items.

“This is the first time we have had nonprofit and profit-making doing this together,” she added. “Sustainability shopping is really big—vintage space is an ideal space for women to feel comfortable.”

On a colorful orange event card giving each store’s description and specific addresses, the first-time collaborators include Vintage Mirage, Encore Boutique, Mint Condition, and the Prevention of Blindness Look Again Resale Shop.  The four shops are within walking distance of each other, located between King and Prince streets along South Alfred, South Columbus, South Royal, and South Fairfax Streets. 

Earlier this week, Dubs worked with the Look Again staff including store manager Gloria Cruz (a 26-year employee), “book man” and general staffer Demian Brady (also a 26-year employee), and Maguel Martinez (8-year volunteer) to decorate the shop and organize stock—preparing for shoppers and hoping for a start to holiday crowds.

“We’ve seen a big change over the years and many more shoppers,” Cruz said, noting that at one time the upstairs was used as storage and volunteers helped make the thrift store what it is today. Now, the second floor is used for clothing including shoes. “I have had a beautiful, good group of volunteers!”

While she said the Look Again store has held annual holiday events, Dubs said the first-time collaboration among shops lifts her hope for more community action as she hopes this first coordinated resale will grow in popularity as an annual collaborative effort.

“This is our attempt at a resale crawl,” Dubs said, laughing at the word play on the popular bar crawls held throughout the year throughout Alexandria. “We eventually hope to get more stores involved.”